The ex-Ajax Cape Town and Orlando Pirates boss has taken over the reins from interim coach Fadlu Davids, who impressed in the hotseat following Ernst Middendorp's resignation in November.

"It’s great to be here and I think with every job that you get offered you got to really think seriously about it. I did have a couple of offers on the table and I looked carefully at what was available," said De Sa, who quit Ajax seven matches into the season after two-and-a-half years with the coastal outfit.

"I think my relationship with Farook [club boss, Kadodia] goes back 10 years or so. Over the years the respect and friendship we have developed has just grown and grown. It was going to happen, it was just a matter of time.

"Coming back here just brings that good feeling, which is a sign of good things. Whenever I came back here to Maritzburg to play it was a nice place to come to, not in the sense that we are going to win, but it was always comfortable and good conditions.

"I think those factors helped a lot in my decision. Of course the squad is very good. I think it is pretty strong and balanced. There are one or two areas of course that you will never be happy with, but that is how it goes in football."

Meanwhile, Maritzburg chairman Farook Kadodia said the mid-table club were careful not to rush appointing Middendorp's successor.

"It has been a very difficult season for us, especially coming out of the very tough season where we had the great escape last season," said Kadodia, referring to their tense relegation battle in 2015/16.

"We still believe that a lot has to be reflected in the brand and the support that we received at Maritzburg. It was important for us to carefully select this appointment. The acting head coach at the time did an impeccable job in keeping the team with the pack in the top eight, it was an incredible job. And I had the belief and trust at the time that there was no need to panic and rush into the appointment of the new head coach.

"We believed that at that time we had a technical team that could continue the job and stabilise the ship. Today we are sitting in eighth position and I firmly believe that we have high aspirations. The mandate is very simple, we need to achieve and pay back the fans."

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